Lupinus cervinus

Santa lucia lupine, Santa Lucia Lupine

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Santa lucia lupine is a California native perennial ranked 4.3 by CNPS, found in the Santa Lucia Range in dry open sites within broad-leaved upland forests, lower montane conifer forests, and chaparral at elevations of 500 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces light blue to pink flowers with a yellow banner spot, approximately 14 to 16 millimeters long. Growing 15 to 30 centimeters tall with an erect, spreading-hairy stem, it forms a gray-green clump with clustered leaves near the base. Its leaves consist of 4 to 8 leaflets, each 40 to 80 millimeters long and 10 to 30 millimeters wide, arranged on long 13 to 15 centimeter petioles. The fruit is a silky pod 3 to 6 centimeters long, containing 4 to 8 light brown seeds with a distinctive brown line.

Habitat: dry open sites in broad-leaved upland forests, lower montane conifer forests, chaparral

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: (305)500-1000(1425) m

Bioregions: SCoRO (Santa Lucia Range).

California counties: Monterey, San Luis Obispo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.